Across all ages, women have slightly higher rates of disability compared to men. However, men have higher rates of disability at the younger end of the age range, while women have higher rates of disability at the older end of the age range.
Women have greater longevity than men and represent a larger proportion of the expanding older population. Several health, disease, behavioral and sociodemographic factors contribute to the higher prevalence of disability in women compared to men.
Disability and communities.
Disability is especially common in these groups, older adults, women and minorites. 1 in 4 women have a disability. 2 in 5 non-Hispanic American Indians/ Alaska Natives have a disability.
Men are more likely to have heart disease, stroke, and diabetes, whereas women are more likely to have arthritis and depression, and there is considerable variation between countries in the differences between the sexes.
The most common types of disabilities
In 2019, an estimated five percent of those aged 21 to 64 years and 31 percent of people aged 75 years and older had such a disability. Ambulatory disabilities are most common in the states of Arkansas, West Virginia, and Mississippi.
More than 46 per cent of older persons – those aged 60 years and over—have disabilities and more than 250 million older people experience moderate to severe disability.
Over three-quarters (76.8%) of people with disability reported a physical disorder as their main condition. The most common physical disorder was musculoskeletal disorder (29.6%) including arthritis and related disorders (12.7%) and back problems (12.6%).
The most common disability type, mobility, affects 1 in 7 adults.
Australia is one of the most wheelchair-friendly countries in the world, overall. If you're planning a trip anywhere in Australia, there's a good chance that most places you visit will be wheelchair accessible.
The Australian population is ageing, with 16% of the population aged 65 and over (Figure PREVALENCE. 2). Half (50%) of people aged 65 and over have disability.
Chronic conditions are the leading cause of illness, disability and death in Australia. Common chronic conditions include cancer, heart disease and diabetes. Find out what we're doing to prevent and manage chronic conditions in Australia.
Musculoskeletal disorders are the #1 cause of disabilities. Examples include; arthritis, back pain, spine/joint disorders, fibromytis, etc.
Women around the world report higher levels of life satisfaction than men, but at the same time report more daily stress. And while this finding holds across countries on average, it does not hold in countries where gender rights are compromised, as in much of the Middle East and sub-Saharan Africa.
In terms of absolute strength – that is, without regard for body size, weight or composition – the average man tends to be considerably stronger than the average woman. Specifically, the absolute total- body strength of women has been reported as being roughly 67% that of men.
There are many different gender identities, including male, female, transgender, gender neutral, non-binary, agender, pangender, genderqueer, two-spirit, third gender, and all, none or a combination of these.
Disability is more prevalent among women than men
From age 30 onwards, the proportion of women who reported disabilities was roughly two percentage points higher than that observed among men in most age groups.
In general, students of color are disproportionately overrepresented among children with disabilities: black students are 40 percent more likely, and American Indian students are 70 percent more likely, to be identified as having disabilities than are their peers.
The results of this study suggest that people with disabilities aged 25–64 are significantly more likely to live alone when compared to people without disabilities.
Many theories have been proposed to explain why more boys than girls are identified as having learning disabilities. Some experts propose that the difference has to do with biological vulnerability, meaning that boys really are more often born with or acquire a tendency for a learning disability early in life.
Some studies have found that women are more trustworthy than men (Croson and Buchan 1999; Chaudhuri and Gangadharan 2007; Schwieren and Sutter 2008). However, Bellemare and Kroger (2007) find men to be more trustworthy than women and Eckel and Wilson (2004b) find no gender differences in trustworthiness.
Key findings: Clients with disability, 2021–22
About 5% of Australia's homeless population are people with a profound or severe disability (ABS 2018).